Homeless Liaison

More than 1.35 million children and youth experience homelessness each year. These young people may be living on the streets, but they are most often in shelters or temporarily living with family or friends after losing housing or having financial problems.

THE MCKINNEY-VENTO ACT

Homeless children and youth often have problems enrolling and participating in school. As a result, Congress passed the McKinney-Vento Homeless Assistance Act in 1987. This law gives homeless children and youth the right to:

Remain in the same school even if they move;

Enroll in a new school without typically required records such as proof of residency, immunizations, school records, or other papers;

Get transportation to school;

Get all the school services they need; and

Challenge decisions made by schools and districts.

The Pentwater Public School district has a “Homeless Liaison” in charge of making sure students who are homeless can enroll and succeed in school. The Homeless Liaison for Pentwater is Mr. Scott Karaptian and he can be contacted at 231-869,4100 ex. 226 or by email at skaraptian@pentwater.12.mi.us